Hauser: Tiger Woods' Masters victory wasn't out of the blue

Tiger Woods got to celebrate his Masters victory with his son Charlie and daughter Sam (not pictured), coming full circle from his first triumph in 1997 that was capped by an emotional embrace with his late father Earl.

Photo: Andrew Redington, Getty Images

The black Mercedes SUV hung a quick U-turn in the parking lot and slipped into the last space along the curb.

Tiger Woods popped out, tugging on the sleeves of his jacket. He was relaxed. Loose. Smiling. Ready for one last pre-Masters moment in the spotlight.

As he walked up the driveway, he shook hands with a few golf writers and gave out one big bear hug. He smiled as Brooks Koepka walked over.

When he stepped to the podium 30 minutes later to accept the Golf Writers Association of America's Ben Hogan Award for coming back from spinal fusion surgery and finishing off 2018 with an exclamation point win at the Tour Championship, he couldn't resist.

A few minutes earlier, Koepka — tie-less with dark jacket — had been introduced with video of his 2018 highlights.

"How come I didn't get a video?'' Tiger said, shaking his head and pausing while the room laughed. "I got (ESPN.com writer) Bob Harig (introducing him)."

He paused waiting for the laughter to die down.

"As Bob so eloquently put it,'' he said, "I was done — at that point ...''

For the next 4½ minutes, nearly 300 guests listened intently as Tiger spoke from the heart. He revealed for the first time that he was in so much pain in 2017 that had gotten a nerve block just to come to the Masters Champions Dinner. That after the dinner that night he had flown to England for a consultation. That those doctors agreed too that only way to ease the constant pain was to undergo that spinal fusion.

"Golf wasn't in my near future or the distant future,'' he said. "I knew I was going to be part of the game, but playing the game? I couldn't even putt in the backyard with my son Charlie.''

He had the audience at "I was done."

Tiger Woods addresses the attendees at the Golf Writers Association of America's awards dinner while accepting the Ben Hogan Award on April 10 in Augusta, Ga.

Photo: Courtesy Golf Writers Association of America

Four days later, he was cradling the world in the palm of his hand.

What transpired in between still has us shaking our heads. It was amazing. Astounding. Incredible. Iconic.

But totally unexpected? Maybe not.

There was an ease, an extraordinary calm and confidence surrounding Tiger all week. You could see it in his eyes. You could feel it. He was focused, his game was sharp.

All he needed were those intangibles to fall together at the right place, at the right time. All he needed was to be in the right position when they did.

He knew it when he drove up Magnolia Lane for the first time that week. We sensed it Wednesday night. Two of us talked about it again in the press building when he found his way onto the leaderboard.

After being around him and writing about him for more than two decades, you know it's the subtleties — the intangibles — of the week that make the difference. The game, the focus, those are givens. The 14 major titles that came before this one speak for themselves. Health? No matter who you are, that's huge and often very private. And Tiger, when his game was at its best and he was running off win after win, those intangibles were always there.

So many people watching Sunday afternoon don't know golf without Tiger. He's been the game since he followed his "Hello world" moment with that 1997 Masters that changed the face of the game.

They either weren't born or weren't old enough to remember that afternoon in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus came from behind at the age of 46 to win his sixth Green Jacket and writers left the old airplane-hangar press room — the Quonset hut — shaking their heads and saying that one was just too big to write.

You heard writers echoing the same thoughts Sunday night.

This time, it wasn't an unexpected comeback but rather a moment of redemption for a man who, not long ago, had hit rock bottom. A man who refused to give up. A man who picked up the pieces of a broken personal life, his swing, his health and, well, his life, and struggled to put them back together.

A man who, at 43, has redefined himself and his priorities. He understands that every day is a test, that you have to live with the consequences of your past decisions and learn from them. That there is no such thing as perfect — personally or professionally. That there's always another step front of you that — if you need it — can take you in a new direction.

For so long, it was easy for so many to buy into the idea that Tiger was perfect and so was his life. Then, a decade ago, it wasn't.

Brooks Koepka, center, gave Tiger Woods good-natured grief for donning jeans to the dinner where he accepted the Ben Hogan award. Koepka and fellow former Masters champion Bernhard Langer, left, were among those who congratulated Woods as he made his way to the clubhouse following his victory Sunday.

Photo: Courtesy Golf Writers Association of America

What matters today is that he understands what 20- and 30-something Tiger didn't. That family and friends are your foundation. That living the full life you want your children to admire and emulate are what's important. That finding that balance and a peace in this world is something we all struggle with. Daily.

"That's just part of the deal,'' he said. "We wake up every morning, and there's always challenges in front of us, and keep fighting and keep getting through."

Over the last few years, he's talked about how the only thing 11-year-old daughter Samantha — Sam — and 10-year-old Charlie knew about golf was that it caused him pain.

They had never been there to see him win a major title. They hadn't seen him show them patience — especially on a major Sunday — is the biggest virtue of all. They had never experienced that amazing moment of pure joy that washes over a major champion and his family when he walks off the 18th green.

All that changed Sunday afternoon. Wearing his signature Sunday red and black, they watched him celebrate like never before when that final putt fell for his fifth jacket and 15th major. In the CBS tower, Jim Nantz was silent for nearly three minutes as the cameras followed Tiger's celebration on the green. The arm pumps, the screams, the hugs, the amazing moment that, two years ago, he wasn't sure would ever come.

As he came off the green, he swept Charlie up in arms. Sam and his mother Tida were next, then girlfriend Erica Herman. At that moment, they finally felt what golf meant. And when they walked up to clubhouse with him they saw the respect as Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Bernhard Langer, Zach Johnson and Justin Thomas all waited to congratulate their dad.

Later, they both sat cuddled up in captain's chairs in the back of the room as their dad talked to the writers. About shots, about life, about the fact that in 1997 he was hugging his late father Earl and this year he was the dad hugging his two children. Full circle, he said. But not about chasing Nicklaus and the magic 18.

Today, he said, was about what he accomplished today. Nothing more, nothing less.

His walkaway as he stood up to leave?

"I'm excited about show and tell at school."

Yes, he was at ease. With the magnitude of the win and where he is at this very moment in his life. A life that he's still working on; one that's never going to be perfect.

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And about that video he was expecting to see at that dinner Wednesday night? It's hard to blame him there.

That was Tiger's 11th trip to the awards dinner since 1998, the 12th time he's been honored by the writers and the first time he hasn't watched a video of himself before taking the stage. Why? Those are done for the Players of the Year — an award he's won 10 times now. The other two honors? This year's Hogan award and the 2007 Charlie Bartlett Award for his creation of and commitment to the Tiger Woods Foundation.

There's already a buzz about the next two major championships. Next up is the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, followed by the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He's won majors at both places and people already wondering what if. After that, the Open Championship is coming to Portrush in July for the first time since 1951.

Could he? We've learned never to doubt. Especially if he stays healthy and keeps fighting to get through every day.

If he does? He'll be back at the dinner in 2020 with a video playing him onto the stage. Not just Bob.